Who’s the Reform Party, the place did they arrive from and what are their insurance policies?

Reform UK is about to characteristic in a UK common election for the primary time, however it’s removed from a brand new occasion.

Party chief Richard Tice is promising to place up a candidate in each seat England, Scotland and Wales on the common election anticipated to be held this yr.

And the polls counsel Reform UK might have an effect on the general outcome, with the occasion at the moment stage pegging with the Liberal Democrats, based on Sky’s ballot tracker.

So who’s a part of Reform UK, the place did the occasion come from and what does it stand for?

Sky ballot tracker – see the state of the events

Key figures

Mr Tice, who was a Conservative Party member earlier than Brexit, is the present chief of Reform UK.

Before that, the occasion was headed by Nigel Farage, earlier than he stood apart in early 2021.

But he’s nonetheless very a lot a part of the motion, and there have been repeated questions on whether or not Mr Farage may stand to as a candidate below the Reform banner.

As lately as 3 January, Mr Tice stated Mr Farage continues to be “assessing” what function he’ll play.

Mr Farage nonetheless wields energy inside the occasion, remaining as a director of Reform UK Party Limited, in addition to the one particular person with important management of the corporate, based on Companies House.

Aside from Mr Farage and Mr Tice, one other well-known Reform UK supporter is Ann Widdecombe, who was beforehand a Conservative MP and minister.

Former Labour MP Baroness Kate Hoey can also be supporting the occasion within the upcoming Wellingborough by-election.

Meanwhile, the occasion’s deputy leaders are David Bull and Ben Habib – the latter of whom is standing within the Wellingborough by-election on 15 February.

Where did the occasion come from?

Before the occasion was referred to as Reform UK, it was often known as the Brexit Party.

This was a single challenge occasion, launched in early 2019, which campaigned for the UK to go away the European Union with no deal.

It was initially led by Catherine Blaiklock, however with the backing of Mr Farage.

At the time, he was nonetheless a member of the European Parliament, however had left the UK Independence Party (UKIP) in 2018.

Ms Blaiklock’s time in cost didn’t final lengthy, and she or he resigned after messages she posted on Twitter from earlier than her time in cost got here to gentle, which had been branded “racist” by the group Hope Not Hate.

Mr Farage then took over.

In the run-up to the European elections in May 2019, quite a few UKIP MEPs joined the Brexit Party.

At that election, the occasion acquired the biggest vote share, getting 29 MEPs in comparison with the Lib Dems’ 16, Labour’s 10, the Green’s seven, and the Conservatives’ 4. UKIP misplaced all 24 of its MEPs.

Mr Tice was elected to the European Parliament as one of many occasion’s MEPs.

Following this election win, the occasion spent the summer time pressuring MPs to pursue a no-deal Brexit.

The occasion initially deliberate to discipline candidates nationwide within the 2019 election, however later determined to not contest seats gained by the Tories in 2017.

It did not win a single seat.

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Reform UK

It was in November 2020 that the Brexit Party grew to become Reform UK.

Mr Farage and Mr Tice stated the renamed occasion would pivot away from being a single challenge stress group on Europe.

Instead, Reform UK would tackle what it noticed as “powerful vested interests”, figuring out the House of Lords and the BBC particularly.

“Badly run, wasteful quangos”, the Home Office, the “way we vote, law and order, immigration” and the federal government’s response to COVID had been all areas the duo additionally wished to “reform”.

It has since been seen – just like the Brexit Party and UKIP – as a risk to the Tories assist base, particularly on issues like immigration, with Mr Farage commonly criticising the federal government.

It has had little electoral success, securing simply two council seats within the 2021 native elections.

Conservative MSP Michelle Ballantyne joined Reform in January 2021, however misplaced her seat in that yr’s Scottish election.

After agreeing a pact with Laurence Fox‘s Reclaim Party, the 2 events agreed to collectively assist Mr Fox’s bid to be London mayor in 2021, though he acquired lower than 2% of the vote.

In the 2021 Hartlepool by-election, through which the Conservatives gained the seat off Labour, Reform’s candidate John Prescott – not the previous Labour MP – gained solely 368 votes.

Two years earlier than within the 2019 common election, Mr Tice was the candidate for Hartlepool and gained greater than 10,000 votes.

Rising within the polls

Throughout 2021 and 2022, the occasion continued to fare poorly within the polls.

However, following the collapses of the Boris Johnson and Liz Truss administrations in direction of the tip of 2022, issues began to tick up.

Reform’s standing within the polls started rising, as each the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats struggled towards a surging Labour.

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It has gone from having much less assist than the Greens and the SNP to now sitting stage pegging with the Lib Dems.

The rise of Reform UK presents an issue for Rishi Sunak. In the Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire by-elections, Reform gained extra votes than the distinction between Labour and the Conservatives.

However, voters who beforehand selected both occasion have been proven to be fascinated with altering allegiance to Reform.

Policies

The 4 insurance policies it touts essentially the most are decrease taxes, web zero immigration, cheaper power, and nil ready lists.

Other insurance policies embrace providing vouchers to go non-public if you cannot see a GP in three days, scrapping curiosity on scholar loans, rising police numbers, conserving “woke ideologies out of the classroom”, abolishing the TV licence price, reforming the Lords and lowering “wasteful spending”.

It additionally desires the UK to go away the European Convention on Human Rights, use offshore processing centres for unlawful immigrants and forestall them from claiming asylum.

On power, the occasion desires to scrap web zero plans and as an alternative enhance drilling for gasoline and oil.

What subsequent?

Mr Habib is standing within the Wellingborough by-election on 15 February, and former Brexit Party MEP Rupert Lowe is standing in Kingswood on the identical day.

Then there are native elections in May.

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These will present a sign of how the occasion might get on on the common election, which we’re anticipating will likely be within the second half of this yr.

Reform nonetheless wants to search out the a whole lot of candidates it desires to face in all of the seats in England, Wales, and Scotland – and the cash to fund them.